The great city of Kolkata, has been home to India’s renaissance, from Rammohan Roy to Tagore, from Swami Vivekananda to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. Our city was where the first medical college in all of Asia was established in 1835, and some of the greatest minds including Bidhan Chandra Roy, UN Brahmachari and Nil Ratan Sarkar have received their education here.

The oldest reference to the concept of emergency care can be dated back to the French Revolution in the late 18th century, where the speed and precision with which the French flying artillery manoeuvred across battlefields, inspired French military surgeon Dominic Jean Larrey who applied his thoughts and ideas to creating ambulances to help transport the sick and ailing with similar to speed to hospitals.

The first contemporary development in the field of emergency medicine came about during 1960s and 70s when groups of physicians began to emerge who had left their respective practices in order to devote their work completely to Emergency care.

In July 2009, as a consequence of and in recognition of the tireless efforts of many in this field, emergency medicine was recognized as a separate specialty by the Medical Council of India.

We are usually the first in-hospital providers to meet the sickest of the sick and have the biggest opportunity to make the most difference. Whether the patient lives to see the cardiologist, or the neurologist, or the trauma surgeon is usually up to us.

Over time, Emergency Medicine has developed various sub-specializations, including Disaster Medicine, Medical toxicology, Emergency USG, Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Trauma and Acute Care.

It was with this thought in mind that the Society for Emergency Medicine India (SEMI) was formed in 1999 and has been for several years now, the torchbearer of the newest advances in the field emergency care. It is the oldest and largest organization representing trained Emergency physicians in India. We have over 2000 members, with more than 15 state chapters. We work closely with government and private healthcare institutes to bring to the fore high quality emergency care.

The WB Chapter of SEMI came into being in 2011. Over the last decade we have witnessed a steady increase in various academic activities. Over the last 3 to 4 years the growth has been exponential. Last year alone our membership increased by more than 40.

Our state chapter has organized conferences of repute including PACE (National Conference), and the annual state conferences like Bengal EM Conclave 2018 and 2019. In association with IMA & IDA we have planned to conduct conferences & workshops in different medical & dental colleges to improve the quality of emergency care in state hospitals and in rural areas.

To enable us to work more smoothly we have formed 3 different wings – Academic, Research and Service wing, each with its own designated set of goals, ideas and work plans. Seniors and juniors alike actively participate and enhance the quality of such programmes and academic meets.